Page 28 of The Boyfriend List
“Nothing. Don’t go all caveman on me.” She laughs weakly.
“It wasn’t nothing.” I study her features. “You look upset. What did he do?”
“The date was going fine. Then I told him I got a text from you. All of a sudden he accused me of being a harlot, just because I’m a woman who happens to be friends with a man. I mean, how insane is that?”
Rage fills me at her words. “He sounds like a jerk.”
“Right?” She tries to smile, but it falls flat. “Anyways, I left right after that because I didn’t want to hear his crazy accusations of how just because a manand a woman are friends means one of themmusthave feelings for the other. Or just because a woman has male friends means she’s sleeping with them. Ugh.”
“That’s absurd. I mean, you and I are friends and we’ve never had feelings for each other.”
“Well, it’s a good thing we came to get ice cream,” I say. “You know, so you cancool down.”
She groans but lets out a giggle. “That’s your worst pun to date.”
“Maybe, but it got you to laugh.” I smile, unable to resist her peals of laughter. It’s the lightest, purest sound that brings me such inexplicable joy.
“Yeah, yeah.” Gloria rolls her eyes as the family with three toddlers finishes ordering and it’s our turn. She takes out her wallet. “What do you want? It’ll be my treat since I invited you here.”
“No,” I say automatically. I didn’t get a lot from my father, but I did learn that a man should never let a woman pay. “I’ll get it.”
“Why?” She quirks an eyebrow at me. “Like I said, I’m the one who asked you to come here.”
“Yes, but…” I scramble to think of an answer. Then I recognize the girl scooping ice cream behind the counter. “My ex-girlfriend works here and I need her to think that I’m here on a date with you.”
Gloria sighs and puts her wallet away. “One of these days you’ll realize the error of your ways and settle down with a nice girl.”
“Well, I’ll do that if you win the bet.” To seal the charade as we step up to the counter to order, I put my hand on the small of Gloria’s back. I’m totally unprepared for the cascade of emotions that floods me when I do so. She looks even more gorgeous than usual. I just wish it wasn’t for some jerk.
“What can I get for you?” The girl working behind the counter briefly meets my gaze, but I don’t think she recognizes me, to my relief. When I said she was my ‘ex-girlfriend’, what I really meant is we went on one datethat ended when she found out I was a tax lawyer. Apparently she hates tax lawyers because she’s an accounting student.
“I’ll have a scoop of chocolate peanut butter with Reese’s pieces in a waffle cone,” I say.
“And you?” She turns to Gloria.
“I’ll have the mint chocolate chip in a cup, please.”
I pay for our ice cream, then step to the side to wait for our orders. “You know that tastes like toothpaste, right?”
“Oh, please. How would you know what it tastes like? You swear you’ll try some of mine whenever I get mint chocolate chip, but you never do.”
That’s because I’d rather taste it on your lips.
“Well today, I’ll be brave and I’ll try some. And you can have a bite of mine.” I know she’ll have more than one bite. As we get our ice creams and walk over to an empty table, I hand her my cone and pull a pack of Lactaid pills from my pocket.
“Deal,” she says.
After I take the Lactaid, we sit down at our table.
“So, do you have any other dates lined up?” It feels masochistic to ask, considering I just spent thirty seconds doing a victory dance when I found out she had ended her date with Lindon, but I have to know.
Gloria glances at her phone. “I’m going axe-throwing with a guy named Rob later this week.”
“Axe-throwing?” I repeat.
“What? Can’t you picture me throwing an axe?” she protests.
“Don’t you use a food processor to mince your garlic because you hate chopping it?”
